


Please Come Back

by yo_kookie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, I don't know, It's angst, M/M, Soul crushing sadness, The entire thing, There's some of that too, Where's the happy?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1424224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yo_kookie/pseuds/yo_kookie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was snowing again. It was always snowing on this day, that's how he knew that he was at the right time. The falling snow was what burned his skin with it's unfeeling cold. Constantly he would relive the same day, hoping to fill the undeniably empty void in his heart. Every time he chose to go back it would be the same, and he would never make different choices nor would he wear different clothing or say something else. That same goddamned fountain every time with that same sorrowful feeling that greeted him. He stood by the tall clock nearby, and waited. Never did he move from that spot, the occasional swift movement of his arm which swept time along with it was what let him make countless mistakes. He never made a step towards the other, not when the he sighed or when his shoulders sagged and he glanced around only to see no one. Even when the other finally gave up and left, he did not move. When everyone cleared from the square and snow had accumulated into small clumps on the ground he stood rooted in place. The scene was bittersweet, but always left an undesirable taste in his mouth and a hole in his heart. </p><p>Loosely (or not so loosely) based off of the Miracles In December MV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sehun had been missing for months, no trace of where he may be. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air. No note, no fingerprints, no anything. Gone. Of course his family was bound to be devastated, but no one was hit harder than his significant other. Zitao, or Tao, was his boyfriend, and though they were forced to be secretive about their endeavors (rather, sneak around without Sehun’s parents finding out) the news was still able to get to Tao within due time. He called and called and called, but no one would pick up. Every text message went unanswered and it got to the point where Tao would only text the other to make himself feel better. Little things here and there that went as:

_“sehun, its snowing~~! i wish you could see it, you love snow ^^”_

_“dont worry, ill take a lot of pictures for you so you wont miss out”_

_“the snow is melting really fast, you should hurry up and come see it”_

_“all the snow is gone, but you can see it when you come back. i took a lot of pictures for you”_

_“ah i got a new job today! its a lot of fun. i wish you could see me work”_

_“spring is coming really fast and all the trees are becoming beautiful again”_

_“i ate a really good meal today. lets go eat at that place when you come back”_

_“remember that dog that sometimes comes around on our yard? i met his owner today, and hes really nice! youll like him too”_

_“hunhun! i passed my korean exam today! i can now speak fluent korean! ^^ are you proud?”_

_“there was a squirrel in our yard today”_

_“happy birthday~~~~!! lets celebrate together next year ok?”_

_“its getting cold again, hunhun. remember to wear a jacket and keep warm!”_

_“i saw my family again today. they were really happy to see me. i wish i could have brought you too. they would have really liked you. maybe next time?”_

_“christmas time is coming up~ can we celebrate it together again?”_

_“look im sorry i keep calling you i just really need to hear your voice. please come back soon. i miss you so much. its really hard without you. please come back. please. i need you. please.”_

_“i hung up our christmas tree today! i even put up that ornament that you like, even though you hate it when other people do it. but the tree looked really empty so i thought itd look nice! ill take it down if you want me to”_

_“merry christmas, hunhun~~!! have a good christmas! i miss you a lot, and i wished to see you next christmas. will you come back and make my wish come true?”_

Over time the messages began to get more and more sparse, sometimes only containing a couple words. As Tao’s life began to spiral downwards his words for Sehun dwindled. He sent messages less often and was only able to send a small amount of words at a time. Every time he saw the name pop up at the top of the messages screen his heart would ache and he narrowly resisted the urge to let tears fall. Yes it did hurt, but it hurt on such a catastrophic level that shedding tears would only cause a chain reaction which resulted in heavy drinking and poor decisions. It was better to keep messages short and to send them only when important things happened.

_“happy new year”_

_“it snowed again”_

_“its springtime”_

_“i got fired today”_

_“the dog doesnt come by anymore”_

_“happy birthday”_

_“i saw my family again”_

_“merry christmas”_

_“my wish didnt come true”_

_“the tree in our yard died today”_

_“i lost my job again”_

_“it doesnt snow here anymore”_

_“happy birthday”_

_“im sorry”_

_“merry christmas”_

_“i miss you”_

_“happy birthday”_

_“come back”_

_“happy birthday”_

_“please come home, hunhun. the bed is really cold without you.”_

_“happy birthday”_

_“The number that you are trying to reach has either disconnected or does not exist.”_

_ “i love you" _


	2. Chapter 2

Years went by and Sehun didn’t return. Tao could no longer hold a job and after moving back to China so he could have the support of his family his fluency in Korean became absolutely useless. Little by little his life fell apart. He became depressed and hardly left his room, hardly ate. Days went by as weeks and weeks as months. Sometimes he thought he saw Sehun on the television or outside his window, but it was never him. Sehun was gone and he couldn’t quite grasp it. Perhaps it was the constant ache that resonated through his whole body and made him numb to the world, or it could have been the nagging thought at the back of his mind that would repeat over and over again “He’s gone, he’s dead.” Whatever it was, left him in need of the other and it put him in a significant amount of pain to simply live. He couldn’t remember, but he couldn’t forget. It was as if Sehun was the sun to his planet, but the sun suddenly went out and he was left feeling around in the dark for something he knew he would never find.

Tao found refuge in the past.

\--

That cold Christmas Eve night was what Tao lived in. He bathed in the flakes that fell from the sky and dampened his clothing. The cold bit at the tips of his ears and turned them red while his breath turned white against the frozen air. He stood and waited, a habit that he had yet to break. While the sun retired across the horizon Sehun would arrive, bouquet of flowers in hand. Every single time Tao laid eyes on him his heart skipped several beats.

Sehun looked fresh out of high school, and he was. At the ripe age of nineteen he was aspiring for a career in the arts. The way he made his body move to the beat of a song was nothing but eye candy. A good handful of people would take one look at him and dismiss him as a bratty teenager, but Sehun was so much more. He was quirky and often made stupid jokes, but he was also sentimental and kind. Though he was young, he was so much older. Being a particularly knowledgeable child he knew all sorts of information both relevant and not. After meeting Tao he went from normally stoic and a bit cold to all smiles and warmth. He opened himself up and Tao was able to see everything. His thoughts, fears, likes, dislikes. They knew everything about each other. The only thing Tao didn’t know, however, was that Sehun was leaving and wouldn’t be coming back. A part of him thought that even Sehun didn’t know.

As the snow began to fall in thick clumps Sehun stood in front of the large stone fountain that decorated the square. He stood, one hand in his jean’s pocket and other holding tightly onto a collection of light-coloured flowers. Tao still stood watch next to the tall clock off to the side. When was the right time? What time had he met Sehun there in the first encounter? As he watched questions buzzed in his mind. Occasionally Sehun would shift his feet or look around, and Tao knew he was late. He was so afraid to confront the younger man. One look at his smiling face could send Tao into a fit of shakes and sobs. So he waited. Waited until he could do more than toss a sideways glance and more than a few minutes of staring. Constantly he turned back time to give himself another chance, but he wouldn’t advance. Rather, he couldn’t advance. Messing with time is risky, yes, but the mistakes that Tao made could just be rewound and erased.

Finally, he took a step forward with a small white box in hand. It had gone unopened for who knows how long. As he came closer and closer to Sehun his grip on the box tightened. Upon seeing the other, his throat constricted and the prickling behind his eyes threatened to release an ocean’s worth of tears.

“Tao!” Sehun smiled, waving.

The lump that found itself into Tao’s throat was enormous. He didn’t speak as he met Sehun in front of the fountain that had run dry long before that day. His stomach was doing twists and turns of all kinds, and he just couldn’t get out the simple greeting that he was supposed to say. Instead, he held out the small box that he’d been nervously clenching in his hands. In turn, Sehun handed him the bouquet that he’d been hanging onto for the past hour. They exchanged gifts, and the flowers smelled sweeter than they had the time before.

Tao looked up to see Sehun admiring the small black Tiffany ring he had from the box and put on his finger. Sehun didn’t really care for jewellery, and he found long bracelets and necklaces a pain for they often bounced around or fell off while he was dancing. However, a custom fitted ring, only one, wouldn’t pose too much of a problem, right? He seemed to like it as he smiled and adjusted it a bit before looking up with one of the happiest expressions Tao had ever seen. “I love it,” he practically gasped. “I wish I got you more, but I really couldn’t afford anything else.” he chuckled a bit out of embarrassment. _Adorable._

Then came the indescribable feeling to just cry. As Tao felt his tear ducts begin to overflow he made a desperate grab for Sehun’s hand. “Please stay here, Hunhun,” he choked out. “Please don’t go home. Please don’t go to work. Just stay here with me. You’re safe here. Stay with me, please.” At this point he had pulled Sehun in for hug and cried into his shoulder, no longer caring about the people around nor the fact that he was messing with time. All he wanted was Sehun, _his_ Sehun. It hurt. Why couldn’t he just take this Sehun back to the present? That way he never would have gone missing and Tao wouldn’t feel this way. This horrible pain wouldn’t exist.

But he couldn’t. Messing with fixed events in time was a taboo amongst his kind. If he were to even attempt it, there were sure to be consequences for not only him but Sehun as well. Thus he was left to hope that Sehun would come back despite that it had been years since his return. Even if he didn’t come back, Tao hoped Sehun was okay. If Sehun was doing well he’d be fine if he never saw the younger again.

“Tao? What’s wrong?” There was a falter in his voice, and Tao knew that Sehun was about to cry as well. “What happened?” he squeaked.

Standing up, Tao wiped the tears from his eyes, horrified at what he had just done. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before lifting an arm and snapping his fingers. Before Sehun could ask, time wound back to before he arrived in front of the fountain. With another snap of his fingers, Tao was back to the present where there was no Sehun and no fountain. Only a stack of books in the corner and a pile of dishes on top of them.

 _I love you_ , he had wanted to say.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd write something sad because I just finished a fic with a happy ending and I'm in need of some angst.  
> And yes, there will be more! I just wanted to post this as a sort of idea on how I'll separate chapters and such. I might just combine the whole thing when I finish, I don't know yet. Please anticipate more for this, though!


End file.
